This page tracks features that have been deprecated or removed in Site Designer. Deprecated means the feature still works but is not recommended and will be removed in a future version. Removed means the feature no longer exists.
Deprecated features
Legacy column-based grid helper
Status
Deprecated in v3.5
Planned removal
v4.0
What it was
A visual column layout tool from pre-v3 Site Designer that generated a proprietary .grid-container system
What replaces it
CSS Grid (via the Master Grid editor) and Flexbox, both available in the Style pane
Migration path
Replace .grid-container layouts with CSS Grid or Flexbox containers. The visual output is the same; only the underlying CSS generation changes.
IE11 optimization mode
Status
Removed in v3.5
What it was
An export option that added -ms-grid- prefixes and IE11-compatible CSS fallbacks
Why removed
IE11 reached end of life in June 2022; maintaining the optimization mode added complexity with effectively no remaining benefit
Migration path
If you need IE11 CSS Grid support, add -ms- prefixes manually in the CSS pane. See Browser support matrix for details.
Removed features
Old Layers panel
Status
Removed in v3.0
What it was
A panel showing all page elements in a flat layers list (similar to Photoshop’s Layers panel)
What replaces it
The Outline pane, which shows elements in their correct HTML hierarchy (tree view), enabling parent/child selection and drag-to-reorder
Migration path
All functionality is in the Outline pane. The tree view is more powerful than the old layers list for understanding element relationships.
v1 .rsd file format (legacy)
Status
Import-only in v2.5+; not natively saved
What it was
The original Site Designer 1.x project file format
Migration path
Open the v1 .rsd file in Site Designer and immediately save it to convert to the current format. After saving, the project is in the v2/v3 format.
Flash-based canvas preview
Status
Removed in v2.0
What it was
An early version of Site Designer used a Flash-based canvas for some rendering operations
Migration path
None needed. The current canvas is fully HTML/CSS/JS based.
FTP over Telnet
Status
Removed in v2.5
What it was
An unencrypted FTP-over-Telnet option in older Site Designer versions
Why removed
Telnet is unencrypted and considered insecure; all major hosts deprecated it years ago
Migration path
Use standard FTP or SFTP (port 22). All modern hosting providers support SFTP. See FTP publishing.
Future deprecation candidates
The following are not officially deprecated but may be at risk in future versions:
Bootstrap 4 bundle — Bootstrap 5 is the current major version. Bootstrap 4 support may be replaced with Bootstrap 5 in a future Site Designer major release.
Foundation 6 bundle — The ZURB Foundation project has seen reduced activity; the bundled version will be maintained as long as the project receives security updates.
Materialize — The Materialize project was unofficially maintained for several years; a community fork (MaterializeCSS) continues development. CoffeeCup will announce any changes to Materialize support.
Monitor the CoffeeCup forums and release notes for official deprecation announcements.
